john harwood on the numbers from the swing state. and who has the buying power mow? our first look at what the holiday shopping season looks like and new data on key consumer sentiment numbers returning to the car market. we begin the hour at the nyse. my partner for the day again, simon hobbs. hi. >> good afternoon. two years ago when there were protes in europe it sent the american markets tumbling. that's not the case today. however the clear escalation on the violence on protests in europe is a reason to pause. for that we join our chief international correspondent who is monitoring the unrest in spain and greece. >> we are waiting to see if there will be more unrest this hour. we have been monitoring on twitter calls for people to come out and protest again, similar to what we saw last night. that would be troublesome. there was a lot of violence in madrid as thousands of protesters tried to surround the

parliament shouting, let us in, we want to evict you. the reason they are protesting is because on thursday the government will reveal budget reforms, changes to cuts in social spending, rising taxes, we're pretty sure of as well. we don't know the details yet. they know it will be painful and they are unhappy pause they have suffered a lot. this is a country with high levels of unemployment. in the last hour, the prime minister of spain has been speaking with editors at the wall street journal. rajoy revealed some of the budget changes they will announce tomorrow including no more early retirement. he's saying there were a lot of people allowed to retire at age 60. now they have to wait until age 65. this might be a disappointment to europe. they expected him to say you can't retire until you are 67 and speed up the process to work longer. they will have an agency to

monitor spending there and they are talking about new job training programs. i don't know where they will get the money for that and more government regulation reform in addition to what's happening in the labor markets. earlier today, two capitols suffering violence. athens as well this morning. we saw people rioting in the streets there as well. teargas being thrown by the police. molotov cocktails thrown by protesters. once again trying to disperse crowds there as they protest another round of salary cuts, job losses, taxes as well as they continue to try to balance their budget. sue, it's always a struggle. the more austerity measures they do, the less tax revenue they bring in and it gets harder to balance the budget. >> it's a vicious cycle. simon is in on the conversation as well. we saw reaction to the down side in the european markets. our markets have been resilient to it. i find that curious.

if this was a year ago it would have been a different story. >> it's important that wall street is unmoved. given that michelle laid it out as she has i would frame it differently and say this is classic profit-taking in europe after a stunning rally. it's two months ago to the day that mario draghi promised he would do whatever it took to save the euro. equities have risen as a result of that and classic profit-taking before tomorrow, the announcement in spain of the budget. friday the announcement in spain of the bank bailout. tomorrow in greece the announcement of how the coalition there is intending to save $12 billion euros. on friday in france you have an announcement of the budget there. in i my view, classic profit-taking on a major asset rally we have had. >> you could say that about both stocks and bonds. >> yes, exactly. >> definitely. we saw interest rates rise in spain. there is a debate about whether or not interest rates rising in spain are profit-taking as say

mo -- as simon says -- that wasn't intended. and what's happening there. >> they are equally worried that the ecb can come in and burn them. you try shorts and you will get big buying from the ecb. that's not a game to be involved in. this will be held in a tight range. >> michelle, the austerity measures to be revealed in the budget, we got a hint of it and you mentioned it. to the rest of europe they may not go far enough. what about spain? are they going to be viewed as draconian or not? >> i think so. you are seeing protests because they know what's coming. there will be disappointment. what rajoy didn't say today and what many in europe expect is that pensions will no longer be linked to inflation. just like here in the united states social security rises automatically if there is an increase in inflation. that happens in spain as well. they are talking about eliminating that. the european union woversiton w

that. rajoy didn't say it today. >> thank you both. here now to talk about how the market is being impacted, joe tanius, the global market strategist from jpmorgan asset management, joins me now. is it remarkable that we are not seeing more vehement reaction in the equity side of things to the visuals we are seeing from greece and spain? >> right. i think if you take a step back, think about europe, we continue to take two steps forward and one step back. at the end of the day the ecb providing support and announcing the program is really a game-changing event. you are eliminating some extreme tail risk but at the end of the day clearly the anti-austerity movements are getting louder, causing unrest. >> what does it do for interest rates at home? we saw a reaction in the currency markets with the euro moving smartly on the day and also our bond market.

we saw yields fall. >> it's a stark reminder that the issues in europe are far from over. as a result that's probably going to keep a lid on interest rates. the flight to safety continues to take place and it needs more money going into bonds. >> joe, uh you will be back with us to talk more about the fed and many more things. all right. that's coming up. in today's yahoo! finance poll we want your assessment of what's going on in europe. is the crisis improving despite today's protests cast your vote. we'll have the results coming up later. simon? >> let's highlight the action in the treasury market. we have had a sale of $35 billion of five-year notes. rick santelli has the latest from chicago. >> thank you very much, simon. if we look at the $35 billion that has new owners today, investors, the ultimate yield is .647. where was the one issue in market trading?

.655. so 65 1/2 on the bid side offered at 65. this is a lower yield at the auction. lower yield, higher price. this was firmly priced. all the metrics were solid. bid to cover, 3.06 high. 42% indirect. pretty much spot on with ten auction average direct. 10.7 also close to the 10% ten auction average means dealers took more than 47% of the auction no matter how you slice it, it gets an a for apple an the demand side of $35 billion, 5. back to you. >> the ten-year yield is back down. oil breaking below $90 for the first time since august. but conversely, gasoline prices are spiking because of refinery explosion. sharon epperson is tracking the action. >> we are going back to prices

in august for oil and gas, but they are going in doctor different directions. the euro zone crisis far from over. that's what traders talked about, part of the reason oil was below 90 in the first place. then the report from the energy department showing gasoline demand went down but it was distillate demand that went down sharply. down over 8%. that lets you know there are big demand concerns as well weighing on the price of crude. in terms of gasoline, it spiked around 11:30 after reports of a refinery explosion in canada at irving refinery. this is one of the largest refineries in mother america. 300,000 barrels per day adding to the issues we have been talking about that put tightness in the gasoline market over a period of time. this spike of 11 cents we saw in gasoline futures was most pronounced in the front month contract. we are seeing a big amount of price action in the spreads. keep an eye on november and

december gasoline contracts as well. >> to politics now. as we mentioned president obama and mitt romney hitting the spring state of ohio in duelling events. the president speaking ott bowling green university. governor romney in bedford heights, pushing his economic plan to business leaders there. the polls show the president is holding a lead in the state. cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood has the latest on that. >> the 18 electoral votes in ohio are critical. no republicans won the white house without them. mitt romney is in a hole in ohio now. new york times cbs poll out this morning showed him down by 10 percentage points in ohio. other polls show it closer. everybody agrees he's behind. look at the numbers. it tells you about his ohio trouble from this poll when you ask people who's better on the economy, that's mitt romney's signature issue. barack obama by 51 to 45%.

when you ask who would favor the rich, 8% say president obama. 58% say mitt romney. that's not good for him. when asked does mitt romney or barack obama understand the problems of people like you, by 59% to 38% people say obama understands, romney does not. that explains why the message mitt romney is sending this morning at an earlier event in westerville, ohio, was this one. >> my heart aches for the people i have seen. yesterday i was with a woman who was emotional and she said, look, i have been out of work since may. she was in her 50s. she said, i don't see any prospects. can you help me? i said, i will do my best to help you and millions others like you. 23 million others like her. there are so many hurting right now. >> of course president obama is one of the people responsible for the bad numbers for mitt romney because he's been pushing

the message that mitt romney's bane capital experience makes him ill suited to care for regular people. president obama is at bowling green university. he'll be at kent state later trying to cement his advantage in that critical state. >> i know you will keep watching for us. despite fears about the economy, once we get past the presidential election it might be a good holiday shopping season. courtney reagan will have the latest on the numbers after the break. plus, good news for the auto industry. a key group of consumers coming back into the car market in a big way. the exclusive data is still ahead today on "power lunch." >> announcer: hey, follow us on twitter. @powerlunch. get breaking uh n ining news. find out what's coming up and everything else you need to know. [ engine revving ]

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an update on the story sharon brought to us before the break about the incident at an irving oil facility. right now they say basically that the incident occurred because a tank undergoing maintenance was overpressurized. as a result there was an incident there. the turnaround time was pretty quick on this. they say they do not anticipate production impacts. as a result of that, arbob

gasoline which was moving up has maintained much of the game, up 1.75% on the trading session but well off the best levels of the day. simon? >> we now have new uh clues about the health of housing in america. the volume of sales of new homes dipped slightly in august. but the median price at which those homes sold during the month rose by a record amount. for the record new home sales edging down to 373,000, just shy of estimates. meanwhile, applications for home mortgages rose last week as interest rates dropped to record lows, of course, in the wake of the fed's latest stimulus move. applications rose 2.8%. the average rate now on a 30-year mixed mortgage tumbling to 3.63%. sue? >> simon, a day after strong consumer confidence numbers a key report on the holiday shopping season.

there appears to be bullish signs. courtney reagan is on the retail beat. >> chief bank investment officer reading too much into the numbers? the confidence and spending correlation hasn't always held up in recent years. but the holidays can make or break a year for retailers speaking of spending and the season is top of mind for everyone in retail and those hoping to cash in on halloween spending though halloween is still 34 days away. totalle holiday sales are expected to increase 3.5 to 4% with expectations of a 15 to 17% increase in nonstore sales. 75% of that online. perhaps the most interesting, contrary to the showroom fears deloitte says smartphone technology is helping, not hurting in store purchasing. they indicate shoppers using smartphones are 14% more likely to make in-store purchases than those not using smart phones.

the toys r us ceo says the internet is an additional tool for retailers. imports are up nearly 9% for august, september and october on average. that's key inventory building months. it's not an exact translation for sales but it correlates with what retailers expect to sell and a departure to remain conservative with inventory. perhaps retailer confidence is on the rise, too. simon? >> interesting. speaking of shopping, after slumping due to recession, new car sales are once again popping. a key demographic group is back in the game buying. phil lebeau has exclusive details from chicago. >> when you look at the numbers you say say it doesn't look like a huge increase but we haven't seen 18 to 24-year-old car buyers growing in show rooms since 2007. here's the data.

we worked with polk to see what happened. it's an increase, the first since 2007. also 25 to 34-year-olds. by comparison look at the group between 45 and 64 down more than 2%. what's happening at the younger buyers? they are going in, buying new cars. first of all it's easier to get credit. they have expanded the pool in terms of people able to get an auto loan. they are taking advantage of loans over a longer period of time. so they have lower monthly periods. here's the good news/bad news, especially for the japanese brands and domestic big three. look at the change in tastes. since 2007, clearly there's been a rotation toward the korean models, european brands and hyundai and kia, that's what to look at. hyundai, the percentage of growth for them have surged. pricing and quality have improved. these are among the top ten brands in terms of selection by

18 to 34-year-olds. there is clearly a rotation in the japanese and domestic brands into the korean and european brands. really, sue, it's a look at what's happening with the younger buyers. >> that's a switch. listen up, detroit. thank you, phil. >> you bet. >> third quarter ending this week. it's been a rocking rally in the last three months. is it coming to an end or is there more room to run? how do you position the portfolio for q4? that's next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go.

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whatever the headlines bear in mind the s&p 500 surged more than 5% in the third quarter that will wrap up friday. despite concerns about an economic slow down and at some point higher oil prices though that's not the case now. will violence in greece and spain hold back the bulls in the fourth quarter? with me, trader at virtue financial matt chester. you don't think people are talking about spain and greece. this is about fedex and caterpillar for you. >> i think so. greece is an old story. spain is ratcheting up the violence in terms of that. the market is down only eight points. that's not a factor. i'm looking for fedex and caterpillar, two companies that ratcheted down guidance and earnings. we have hit good support levels. i look for them to rebound. it's going to be strong through friday. >> you are often bearish.

>> yes. >> but not now. what's changed for you now? >> nothing really. going into the next couple of days at the end of the third quarter we'll see interests. we see higher highs, lower lows. i'm tired of it. >> that's the point. don't fight the feds. what's the best way to play it? >> i will play bellwethers like fedex and caterpillar. we had good numbers out of consumer sentiment numbers. holiday season could be strong. fedex could be a beneficiary of that. >> you have areas going into recession. >> we have overlooked it and we will keep overlooking it. >> things are slowing down which is what caterpillar is talking about. >> they have held through the corn drought well. you know, they have held through it. it's toward lows. probably worth a buy.

we'll see the rally we get. >> sue, back to you. >> thank you very much. all right. gold prices are getting ready to close. sharon is where the action is today. we're going back to the nymex for metals trading and the big interview with twitter's ceo. is he planning to go public? back in a flash. bob...

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this market just turned positive. let's go to mary thompson analyzing the trades on the floor of the new york stock exchange. >> retailers hope to provide support to the dow right now. we have seen investors taking a defensive stance or at least those have been the winning sectors in a day when the overall tone to the market has been weaker because of concerns about the euro -- because of europe. also concerns about some sectors in the u.s., specifically the home builders. august new home sales were weaker than expected. as a result the u.s. home building index having one of its worst days in a couple of months putting pressure on home builders which have been generally a positive sector over

the last year again. let's look at a couple of dow movers as the dow holds onto the two-point gain. the nasdaq and s&p remain weaker. bank of america, american express, financials are under pressure. disney, cisco and travellers. tech is a standout to the down side today. one of the reasons we see the tech sector weaker is because of circuit. also transports in a shift because of weakness in oil outperforming the dow industrials. back to techs. jabil circuit came out with weak results. stock down over 9%. as we approach the close of september, typically a volatile month for the markets. this time no exception. it is usually the worst performing month for dow industrials. strong first half leading up to the fed easing. since then we have had a little bit of a downward bias to the markets. simon, back to you.

>> thank you very much. if you're just joining us we have had a hammering on oil so far today. gold is about to close. sharon epperson has it all at the nimex. >> we saw gold down sharply. we are still down on the session and the weakness in the euro having an impact on the gold market. prices down about $12, right above the 1750 level. gold was down to 1738 earlier in the session. we are continuing to watch what happens in europe and of course what will happen with central banks and monetary easing. also the turnaround in silver. silver now positive. some traders say it's part of the reason why we have seen gold pare its losses as well. we are watching mining in south africa and the impact on base metals and gold. we are looking at copper prices which are down sharply in the metals complex. even with the weakness in

copper, now may not be the time to pew. traders are saying there could be further weakness in the industrial metals because of the demand concerns around the globe. back to you. >> thank you very much. the broader market may be even but tech having a hard time. let's get to the nasdaq. >> interesting moves in the tech space. we have research in motion continuing to outperform after the ceo provided encouraging statements around the blackberry. goldman raising estimates ahead of research in motion's earnings announcement which is tomorrow after the bell. google continues to outperform. when you look at the chart, bullish move. we have shares of google continuing to diverge from the 200 day moving average, a bullish sign. competition continuing to heat up. we have barnes & noble releasing two tablets to compete with amazon and apple. we have a biotech mover today. look at biogen. it was moving higher after the

company announced experimental hemophilia b treatment met goals but will submit an approval application many the first half of 2013. that's a mover in biotech. back to you. >> back with us now, global market strategist from jpmorgan asset management joe tanious. you're still constructive on equities. >> if you look at corporate profitability companies have done well over the past few years. despite the fact that earnings growth is slowing down valuations are still attractive. that said there are still a number of concerns and uncertainties out there. i think you're going to see choppier markets. >> what's your number one concern? >> not only is the issue in europe going to continue to plague the markets for at least a couple of years to come, obviously the anti-austerity movement is growing, strikes and protests in greece. >> the world's a mess. >> you still have chinese

economic data relatively soft. we think it's moderating. i don't think you are showing signs of a collapse here. growth will pick up but it is soft and tengs in the middle east. what happens when oil prices pick up again? that will eat directly spo the consumer's pocket. >> the fed made a move. what it did took you by surprise. you expected something, but you call it easing to infinity. >> right. this is qe infinity. with interest rates at low levels there are diminishing returns from increased asset purchases. qe1 we saw asset reflation there. qe2 less. 3 we had a pop but how long will the sugar high last? >> when it wears off, choppier markets. i assume that means have to pick your spot carefully. you always do, but more so now more thanever. are there areas of the market you like better than others?

>> if we look at equities around the world. we think about the u.s. in the developed world. it's your cleanest dirty shirt at this point. we are constructive on u.s. markets. you have companies in the s&p 500 that deleveraged significantly. cash accounts seeing high levels and profitability looking good. everyone is talking about the slow down in earnings growth. we knew it was going to come. >> there were a lot of preannouncements. >> let's not forget second quarter profits in the s&p 500 hit a record high. at the end of the day when going into the equity markets, buying stock that's what you are buying. we remain constructive on u.s. equities. >> the cash on the sidelines, why is it not deployed more aggressively by companies? is it the looming fiscal cliff, the presidential election or do they want fat balance sheets to make acquisitions? >> as i travel around the country and speak with small business owners and individual investors there is a bit of risk aversion. people are nervous. you are seeing them spend the

cash, whether through capex, m & a or sending cash back to the shareholders through buybacks or dividends. investors are nervous. you have uncertainty around the election. what will the tax policy be like next year? we are facing the biggest tax hike in history weighing on businesses' minds. clearly the fiscal cliff although i believe it will be resolved before the end of the year, there will be a lot of headlines and anxiety. >> what about high yield investments? everybody is looking for yields. do dividends play into your strategy or would uh you look at higher yielding corporate debt although some argue that's a crowded trade at this point. >> when you think about higher yielding investments in general you have to broaden your perspective. first, separate the idea that all income comes from fixed income. you're right. there are dividends, reits, higher yielding sectors that can provide income.

some of the areas may be expensive. i think you can pick out the right companies and of course in the bond market look at areas like high yield bonds, emerging market debt although they are crowded, if you are looking for income, for a coupon, i i think there are areas around the world where you can find that. >>le the treasury trade seems intact. but you're not a fan. >> not at all. you look at the interest rates. the ten-year. >> 164. >> subtract inflation and you have a negative real interest rate. that makes no sense. >> it doesn't but it's a safety trade. the return of principal rather than the return on it. >> the problem is if i buy a ten-year treasury and hold it until it matures i'm guaranteeing that in ten years once it matures i will have lost money. i don't think the safety is there. you have to consider that interest rates may rise. i'm not suggesting it will happen tomorrow, but clearly as confidence picks up, you're probably going to see multiple

year expansion, interest rates rise and that makes me nervous. >> you don't think the fed has bullets left. >> what else can they do but buy stocks? they have exhausted the efforts. i commend their efforts but at this point confidence is the issue. there is very little monetary policy can do to stimulate confidence. >> good point. thanks, joe. pleasure to see you. now to court with a market flash. >> look at veriform systems at a two-year low after renaissance macro listed them as one of the short candidates. this came out in a daily note. shares sliding 6%, considerably under performing the tech sector. simon? >> i'm afraid to say america's ceos are getting less optimistic about the economic recovery. a survey by the business round table say only 29% expect job growth in the next six months

compared to 34% that expect the head count to decline. blaming the uncertainty over taxes and the upcoming fiscal cliff. we should be aware this is a lobbying group. we know a number of high profile business leaders are pumping money into the presidential election. who are this time around mitt romney's biggest donors? robert frank knows and has the details on that. because we did obama supporters earlier on the network. >> correct. equal time, equal money. that's right. this is one of the most exclusive clubs in politics. to get into the club, the top five donors, you need to give more than 2.2 million dollars. the top five alone have given $60 million to the romney cause. number five, foster friess, the mutual fund magnate. ran the brandywine fund.

he's given more than $2.25 million to groups supporting romney. he advocates encouraging the private sector like many of the donors. private equity has come under attack in the election but romney has friends in the business. among them, john childs, the founder of jw childs, the boston private equity firm. he's given $3.1 million to the romney efforts. he's a long-time gop funder. he's given to groups opposed to tax increases. trivia, he also funds ducks unlimited, a wetlands conservation group in florida. number three is also in finance. you see a pattern here. harold simmons. he helped fund the swift boat campaigns you may remember against john kerry. he's given more than $14 million to the cause. his collection of companies includes defense contractors that do a lot of work for the pentagon. ranking at number two is not if

finance. he's in housing. bob perry. he's the founder of perry homes in texas. he supports the economic freedom fund. he's locked in a heated money battle in texas with our number one democratic donor. we are not going to tell you who it is now. you'll find out later as well as who the number 1 mystery is on the republican side on closing bell. >> is it within finance? >> it is not within finance. on the democratic side it's an independent associated with the democrats but a guy i hadn't heard of until i did this story. it will be a surprise to many viewers. >> in the meantime, is there evidence that the money they are giving is working? >> this is the fascinating debate. remember when the super pac issue came and the supreme court ruled and citizens united? there was a fear money would take over the election.

some say it has had little effect since romney isn't plowing ahead especially in the swing states. others on the republican side and the super pacs say without this money romney might be doing even worse. it's hard to tell. >> okay. thank you very much for that. we'll look forward to that later. still ahead, is twitter ready to go public? could you get your hands on twitter? a big interview ahead with the twitter ceo. find out what he said about a flirtation and the way twitter is hoeing to make moneys. plus, would you go hungry to have a smart phone. a crash management system and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety.

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in answer to our question 9% of you say the crisis in europe is improving despite the protest, 57% say the situation is about to get worse. 34% say it's the same as it ever was. today's national comic book day. in honor, a look at how prices skyrocketed for this alternative investment class. case in point, the first comic book ever made and so-called holy grail of comics, action comics number 1 which fetched $2.1 million at auction last year. 1962 comic book featuring the first ever appearance. number nine which sells for $3.99. and a side note, companies like sharpue are getting traction in the social media space.

check out the cool twitter page featuring this for national comic book day. sue? >> perfect segue, simon. tweeting and twitter is revolutionizing the social media world. companies like sharpie are always looking for new ways to use it. twitter ceo speaking with julia borsten. hi. >> hello, sue. twitter ceo dick costalo says the advertising revenue continues to grow but it could be doing better. i asked why he's leaving money on the table. >> it doesn't bother me if we are or aren't. we want to do all things we can to bring people closer together, closer to their interests, closing to their heroes, the companies they work with. anything that's outside of that, we are happy to let other people do and profit from. >> why not be part of the

process if -- for instance, customer service brings people closer. why not deliver those tools yourself? >> you have to focus. when you focus and do just a few things extremely well and you're the best in the world you can build a fantastic enterprise. when you think to yourself, if i let someone else do this i might leave 50 cents on the table you don't have as compelling a platform or as compelling an eco-system and companies like virgin, nike and the hundreds of thousands and millions of small businesses who use twitter can't use it as effectively. >> will we see an e-commerce capability on twitter? >> i think we do see lots of commerce take place every day on twitter. it's particularly interesting in areas with things like perishable inventory like tickets. the game or show starts in x

hours. if we don't sell the tickets there is nothing we can do with them. we are paying attention to that and are thinking about ways to participate in the value exchange. we'll see what happens. >> what's your biggest challenge from a revenue perspective? >> our biggest advertising challenge is making sure our revenue reflects is percentage of users that exist -- that use twitter in various countries. we have users all over the world. the user base is growing globally fast. we need to expand our advertising platform globally beyond just a couple countries we are in now. >> you can watch the entire interview including his answers to questions that were tweeted in by our viewers on mediamoney.cnbc.com. >> before we let you go, you talked to him about a myriad of things certainly. you asked whether he was going to go public or preferred to stay private. what did he tell you? >> he says he has no plans to go

public any time soon. i asked him whether his approach to this and attitude was influenced by facebook's ipo. he said not at all. he insisted that he's growing the company and focused on keeping the company private and independent for now. i asked if he would be willing to sell for a price. he said, no. he thinks twitter has long legs as an independent standalone private company. at some point i expect him to go public. >> one would think he has to monetize that. simon? >> what would you give up to keep your smartphone? next we'll talk about the astounding lengths americans are going to. plus, forget the strategic petroleum reserve. we may need a strategic bacon reserve. we'll tell you about the coming global bacon shortage. now, that's what i call a test drive.

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lowest price, guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ time for the power run down. jane wells and john carney here. welcome. the wall street journal says cell phone bills are eating family budgets and more than

half carry a device like the iphone. on average $100 per month per device. jane? feeding the children or having a smartphone? >> at least people are spending. they are not feeding their children. they are paying for the smart phone. that's why apple is one of the largest by market cap. my daughter is 22. just graduated college on her own. she had to make choices -- cable, smartphone? the phone won. people are spending and that's the good news. >> we're on cable television here. don't tell people to turn off the cable and get a cell phone. >> oops. >> the big thing that's going on is people are making choices. what's happening is they are not going to the movies, not eating out as much. it is hurting other economic sectors. that's the way the market works. >> who knew a smartphone could be such fun?

you have probably seen julia sitting down with the twitter ceo. he says the company has no plans to go public any time soon. do you think, john carney, that twitter should consider going public and letting people watching now get a chance to get their hands on the stock? >> absolutely not. there is no way twitter should go public. they don't need the money. that's the reason to go public, to raise capital. they are doing fine. it's not -- their expenses aren't increasing rapidly. i think just remaining a private company for uh now is the right thing to do. >> you get as much access to cash many the private sector these days. >> i don't see what the upside is for them now. we don't know if twitter is profitable. they don't have to say. they are private. unless they need to give some kind of boost to employees to retain them like, look, we'll go public so you can cash out, i don't see the upside. >> after the mess of facebook it's crazy for a company like that to think of going public. >> we have left the most

important story for last. england's national pig association is warning of a world shortage of pork next year. they say it's now unavoidable because of the droughts and feeding the pigs is more expensive. jane, you may not know that china has established a strategic pork reserve. >> that's true. they are trying to provide more of their own pork so they won't have to import much. simon, when is the last time you bought bacon? >> yesterday. they put it in an omelet when i asked for ham. have you ever bought it in the grocery store? >> i don't go. >> i do. if it was meat, gasoline, milk, bacon is 4.60 a pound on average now. so it goes up 20%, that's 90 cents. that won't impact your cell phone bill. >> i think it is a potentially big geostrategic problem.

think of the protests in spain now. what happens when the price of chorizo doubles? >> no more bacon shakes. >> terrible. the bacon buck will be unavailable to most americans. >> just will have to be regular vodka. >> you look great, jane. >> i thought you meant me, simon. >> i want to bring this light with me everywhere. when i go out to eat tonight i want the light with me. this is my beauty light. >> thank you very much, both of you. on the next hour on cnbc big name companies. you know rimm, barnes & noble making hail mary passes. will they pay off for the stocks? that's next. if we want to improve our schools... ...what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help,

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welcome back to power lunch. i'm courtney reagan with the market flash. let's look at dean food. the stock is halted due to news pending. at this point we have been halted for about 20 minutes or so. reuters is reporting that dean foods is seeking a buyer for the morning star dairy division. it hired ever core partners to shop the division.

this is a reuters report. we'll see if we get the news. now pending. until we do, news on this or potentially something else. sue? >> thank you very much. let's get up to date on the markets now. of course everybody is watching what will happen. if something happens in europe we are down on the dow jones industrial average by 24 points. we were pretty much on the flat line for most of "power lunch." the nasdaq is down 23 points which is about three-quarters of a percent. a bigger percentage move to the down side in the nasdaq. simon, know you want to talk to matt cheslock, but why don't you go to grocery stores? >> i have it delivered. >> well, you can pay the bill. >> i do pay the bill. never mind that nonsense. matt wants to tell you about intel. on why you should potentially be buying intel. >> okay. >> it's got 4% yield. trading here at a one-year low of 22 1/2. two analysts lowered the rating.

stock is up. looks good. i would buy it going into the rest of the year. a nice play, a 20% discount in a market that's gone up 5%. i like intel here. >> have a great afternoon, matt. sue! that's all for "power lunch today." >> thanks, simon. "street signs" begins now. see you tomorrow. welcome to this wall of worry "street signs." you have protests in europe. boeing ceo warning a slow down in china could whack us and your market is calling for a 15 to 25% drop in stocks. he's here and so is bond king bill gross. forget the packers game. we have three big companies throwing hail mary passes of their own. barnes & noble, rim and radio shack are going for the long ball. whether it will work. ,